The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) has shared their updated eligibility criteria for the 2023 ARIA Awards. By and large, the new criteria will allow for a greater range of Australian artists to enter the awards by taking into consideration the Australian-specific release charts, not just the overall .
For instance, in the Best Pop Release category, the awards have introduced additional optional chart criteria of the Australian Artist Top 50 Singles or Albums. Previously, only the main Top 100 singles or albums qualified. The Best Rock Album, Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album and Best Adult Contemporary Album categories has extended chart criteria to cover releases on the Australian Artist Top 50 Albums chart. Previously, only entries that had appeared in the main Top 100 Album Chart were considered.
“It’s Important for Us to Ensure We Are Representing Each Category in a Way that the Community Is Proud Of”
The Best Soul/RnB Release category has done away with chart appearance criteria altogether. Instead, entries must only have been surveyed for the Hip Hop/RnB charts. You can see all the changes to the eligibility criteria here.
The changes come after the ARIAs were called out last year for the criteria in its award categories. Rapper and Gumbaynggirr man Tasman Keith labelled the awards’ eligibility structure “outdated”, revealing that his debut album A Colour Undone did not meet the criteria for categories like Best Hip Hop Release or Album of the Year.
“ARIA needs to evolve. The system isn’t set up for the small-town mission kid, it’s set up for the big label white man,” Keith said at the time. “And as a First Nations person I shouldn’t need to change the system to simply be acknowledge by it, that’s been the problem with Australia.”
Following Keith’s comments, ARIA issued a statement in which they said it had “always been ARIA’s mission to create opportunities for Australian music to be heard in all its forms, by all those who create it”.
Speaking about the updated eligibility today, ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd said the organisation “exists to promote and showcase Aussie music and help more Australian artists reach more fans, both here and around the world.” She described the awards as the organisation’s “most important initiative to do that.”
“Every year they place Australian music on a national and international stage to showcase the best of the best, but for that reason, it’s important for us to ensure we are representing each category in a way that the community is proud of,” she continued. Herd added that ARIA reviewed their awards eligibility criteria each year in consultation with their members, but had opened up that process to leaders and artists – particularly in emerging and evolving genres – for this year’s awards.
“Broadly speaking, the changes see our criteria expanded for a number of categories to allow more Australian artists to submit for nominations and help shine a greater light on local artists; particularly those in emerging genres like R&B, which certainly deserves more than the four eligible artists who submitted last year,” Herd said.
“While there is absolutely more work to be done in ensuring greater reach and recognition for our brilliant local artists – and we will continue to converse, consult and evolve – this is an important step and something we can’t wait to celebrate with the nominees later in the year.”
Entries for this year’s ARIA Awards will open next month on Friday, 21st July, with voting for the awards beginning in late August. Nominees will be revealed in late September.
Further Reading
Baker Boy Cleans Up At The 2022 ARIA Awards: Full Winners List
Mallrat Calls Out ARIA Awards: “Approximately One in Five of the Nominees Are Non-Male”
